Octillery Report

Octillery (the Jet Pokémon) is an uncommon Water-type Pokémon found among freshwater streams, rivers and bodies of saltwater within the Johto, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, Galar and Hisui regions as well as parts of the Sevii Islands and some deep-sea basins worldwide. While a bit too bizarre for most to handle and difficult to find at best, Octillery are interesting creatures that take the move diversity of Remoraid one step further with their bizarre powers and surprising combat tactics. They certainly might not be much to look at, but you would be wise to keep your distance when fighting one of these strange critters in battle; getting hit by an Octazooka is bad enough, but getting whacked senseless by a full-throttle head-butt is likely worse in the long-run!

While Remoraid do contain some characteristics that grant the general appearance of fish, evolution strips this persona away completely and reveals the creatures for what they truly are: octopuses. This unfortunately causes a drop in movement speed, but they are more than benefited by this change in evolution by better offensive and defensive stats and a slightly wider selection of moves, such as the inclusion of the Wrap, Rock Blast and Gunk Shot attacks. From afar, Octillery will usually try to attack prey with their more powerful projectile attacks before lurching up close to them, but even then this will only happen if the prey is worth moving around to get. More often, Octillery will merely wait for prey to swim near them before blinding them with a spray of ink and subsequently lashing out with their tentacles to ensnare them tightly in their Wring Out attack; this is a precarious situation for any creature, as it is nearly impossible to escape an Octillery's grasp once ensnared. Before their prey can even attempt to escape, Octillery will follow up their trap with a massive, skull-crushing head-butt more than capable of knocking smaller creatures out cold; Octillery thankfully don't feel a thing, as their head contains a thick but flexible layer of calcium carbonate that even surgical saws have some difficulty getting through. If Octillery find themselves in danger, such as in a predator attack or after ensnaring prey too strong to handle, they will rarely ever stand and fight, choosing instead to spray ink in the face of their offender before making their escape; not only does this serve as a visual distraction, but it also contains a substance that dulls one’s sense of smell, making it hard for Pokémon with a keen sense of smell to follow them. It is interesting to note that this power can further be used as a weapon in battle, as Octillery has naturally developed the ability to actually deliver their ink in the form of a globular projectile capable of both blinding anything it touches as well as actually inflicting a decent amount of damage in the process. This strange attack, named the Octazooka attack after the species itself, is little more than a gimmick in most situations (Made accessible to Octillery immediately after evolving), but can nonetheless prove to be potentially dangerous weapon when complete accuracy is needed to win a battle. It is further valued as a delicacy, as the ink inside these balls is a very popular cooking ingredient in places such as the Alola region.

Because they have no internal skeleton to protect themselves with, Octillery generally prefer to stay outside the view of prying eyes and will usually seal themselves within any cavern or small space they can find in the seafloor, on a shelf, between large boulders, or even inside a pot if they are on land. Finding room is rarely an issue with the species, as they are able to squeeze the entire volume of their body into a space no bigger than a volleyball without much grief and will in fact do so with only their snout exposed at the surface in case they are discovered by a predator or see something appetizing (as it would provide them more than enough cover to spray ink without being counterattacked). Unfortunately, Octillery are not the most respectful of creatures when it comes to the personal space of others and will often steal the nests of other Octillery if they feel like taking a nap and are too far away from their own nest. This is usually done much to the chagrin of the actual owner, but because the species as whole does not particularly like fighting, it merely provides an inconvenience that will be readily rectified the moment the thief wakes up.

Though they certainly might not win any contests for their speed, Octillery are intelligent beasts that can easily take down opponents up close and afar with powerful projectile attacks and a wicked head-butt guaranteed to leave most creatures seeing stars. It's unlikely that they will see a lot of combat time out of the water, but if you can learn how to adapt to their quirky lifestyles, it shouldn't take much to turn one of these odd octopi into a game-changing tactician. Just be careful about being too affectionate with them; it might seem cute at first to have one clinging to your head like a small child, but it likely won't be so funny after you have to go to the hospital to receive treatment for a concussion!

Professor Wormwood